4 Networking in Azure
This chapter covers
- Creating and using virtual networks, subnets, and network security groups
- Using best practices for creating and managing virtual networks
- Distributing traffic from an outside network to internal resources
Where compute is the brains of a cloud project, the networks that connect them are the arteries and blood lines. Just like computing, you need networking for anything you do with cloud computing on Azure. There’s no choice. At times, the network parts of your infrastructure will be abstracted away from you, but they’re still there.
Now, we’ll focus on the Azure Virtual Networks (VNets) that you can control, manage, and make jump through hoops made of IP address ranges. When managed effectively, VNets in Azure can secure against intruders, optimize data efficiency, help with traffic authorization, and form part of your application’s internet footprint.
4.1 What is a virtual network?
When two resources on Azure need to communicate securely with each other, a resource needs to send and receive data with the public internet, or a service has to communicate with an on premises network, you have to use a VNet. Just like cars need roads to drive on, cloud data from services need VNets to travel through. Azure VNets also embody the very foundations of cloud computing we discussed in chapter 1: reliability and scalability.